All posts tagged "zune software"

Sunday, October 24, 2010

I've just spent the past 10 minutes fighting with the installation of the Zune 4.7 desktop software on one of my computers; the upgrade, which comes via Windows Update, worked smoothly on all of my other computers, but on this one computer, it kept failing. More irritatingly, the URL the Zune software installer gives me for more information isn't neither clickable, nor is it possible to copy and paste it. I attempted the first install, and when it failed, I rebooted my PC and tried again. It failed again. I rebooted again, and this time I went to Zune.net and downloaded the 4.7 software directly - and the install worked. A bit odd! I had hoped the Zune software had evolved beyond the point of random install failures, but it seems it still has a way to go yet.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Today is Windows Phone 7 launch day, and as such, there's a new Zune desktop client ready for you to download; it's version 4.7, and it brings with it a lot of user interface tweaks. I've just installed it and am checking it out now...and I'm seeing more than a few ugly surprises. Here's the official word from the Zune's PR people:

"As you may know, the Zune experience is built directly into the Music+Video hub on every Windows Phone 7, providing a great media experience on the handsets for personal media collection playback, as well as the ability to stream millions of songs wirelessly with a Zune Pass subscription in the US, UK, France, Italy and Spain. In addition, the Zune software will serve as the Windows-based PC sync client for the handsets allowing a user to manage and transfer their media between PCs and Windows Phone 7 handsets.

In support of the forthcoming availability of Windows Phone 7, we are beginning to roll out the updated Zune PC software (version 4.7) today. Zune PC software will be available to download for free from Zune.net. By having access to the software now, consumers around the world can familiarize themselves with all that Zune has to offer and get ready for Windows Phone 7.

The Zune PC software provides a best-in-class experience to manage, discover and enjoy digital media with a variety of exclusive features including new enhancements such as:

• Sync Media: lets users purchase music and videos through Windows Phone 7 and sync content with their Windows-based PC

• Parental Controls & Rating on Videos: gives parents more control of available content streamed or downloaded to a phone

Additionally, customers in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain will also be able to use the Zune software to access the Zune Marketplace - a one stop shop for music, videos and more. Customers in the UK, France, Italy and Spain will also be able to subscribe to Zune Pass for £8.99/9.99 to get unlimited downloads and streaming access to the Zune music catalogue using the Zune PC software.

For more information around the international availability of Zune services, click here. For more information on the new Zune PC software, please visit www.zune.net"

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

All the focus right now is on the Zune HD, and the hardware does indeed look sweet, but the Zune experience is about more than just the hardware. Case in point: my friend Matt sent me four songs by BLK JKS to check out, Zune to Zune. Rather than plugging in headphones, I docked my Zune so I could listen to it my desktop computer speakers. Much to my surprise, I saw that I was only able to listen to 30 second samples - presumably coming from the Zune Marketplace rather than my Zune itself.

It makes me wonder if the issue here is that the Zune software can't play music directly off the Zune itself - and that's why I get the 30 second samples. If so, that's another limitation of the Zune and the Zune desktop software: more than once I've been travelling and had my Zune with me, full of music, and my laptop with no music. Sometimes you don't want to, or can't, put in headphones so listening to music on my laptop is my preferred method. Short of transferring the music from the Zune to the laptop, there's no elegant way to do this. Will the new 4.0 software address this issue? Time will tell...

Sunday, March 16, 2008

This is the first in a series of videos designed for Zune owners - this video is very basic, describing the steps required to configure the Zune desktop software to find your video files. Got a request for something you'd like to see me cover in a future video? Post a comment and make a request!